


Well, That Was Awkward

by hutchabelle



Series: Everlark Holiday Bingo 2020 [1]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Dinner, Dinner, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Food, Marriage, Married Couple, Married Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28266627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hutchabelle/pseuds/hutchabelle
Summary: This can’t be happening, but it is.
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Series: Everlark Holiday Bingo 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2070777
Kudos: 17





	Well, That Was Awkward

**Author's Note:**

> Square filled and prompt: N4, awkward family meal
> 
> I have nothing against green bean casserole. Just saying.

“Please, don’t make me do this,” I plead. “Please, don’t.”

Peeta kisses me on the head and hugs me to him. “It’s going to be okay. No one’s even going to care.”

“You promised to love and protect and honor me for life, and you’re forcing me to do something absolutely terrible.”

He chuckles softly at my overly dramatic declaration and tugs me into the house. “Come on. It’s just one meal. It’ll be fine.”

“Peeta! Katniss! Welcome home!”

Peeta falls into a hug from his father and a kiss on the cheek from his mother. As terrified as I am, it’s really lovely to see my husband making nice with his parents. They haven’t always gotten along, and their relationship hasn’t exactly improved since we got married. When they turn to me, I shift the dish I’m holding to the other hand and give them both an awkward side hug. I’m not touchy-feely, and the Mellark family lives for physical contact. I mean, I like being close to Peeta, but I’m not getting naked with anyone else.

“Follow me, Katniss. Into the kitchen.” Peeta’s mother clucks and motions with a flick of her wrist. “This way. The other girls are waiting.”

I throw Peeta a helpless look, begging with my eyes for him to rescue me, but he just grins and wiggles his fingers at me. I’d smack him, but I don’t want to give his parents any more reason not to like me.

The other Mellark in-laws greet me with half-hearted hellos. They haven’t been here long either; I can tell by the way they still have a semblance of life in their eyes. That’ll all be choked out by the end of the evening, I’m sure. It’s not that the Mellarks are terrible hosts; it’s just that no one is good enough for the Mellark boys, and that makes being stuck in a house with their parents remarkably uncomfortable. I try to have a good attitude about it, but that’s not exactly my thing. I’m not known for my sunny personality, and I don’t know how to make friends.

“Katniss, dear, go ahead and put the yams down over there. We’ll arrange everything on the counter and serve ourselves before sitting down,” Peeta’s mother says and gestures vaguely.

Frozen, I panic for a split second before clearing my throat and explaining. “I’m sorry. We didn’t bring yams. Peeta insisted on green bean casserole. He said it’s tradition. I didn’t have the heart to turn him down.”

The silence is so intense it hurts my ears. I’m terrified a blowup’s coming, but my sisters-in-law smirk at each other. Something’s up, clearly. It’s about time someone brought me up to speed.

“What’s going on?”

“We wondered how long it would take for this to happen. I thought he’d give you at least another year, but he must have lost patience,” the elder of the two sisters-in-law explains.

“I don’t understand,” I protest, completely confused.

Peeta’s mother smiles at me, and I can’t tell if it’s in sympathy or something a little more sinister. “It’s nothing. The boys have always had this competition about their future wives. It doesn’t make any sense at all, but when they were young, they decided whoever’s wife could make the best green bean casserole would be the winner. Of what, I don’t know.”

I’m speechless—partly because I can’t cook, and Peeta knows that. My casserole will only be edible because he helped me. But for him to make me part of some stupid competition with his brothers and my sisters-in-law without telling me is just beyond the pale. I really do want to smack him now and for good reason.

“I can tell this is upsetting, dear, but the bright side is we have three different green bean casserole dishes to taste test.”

It feels like a betrayal, which I know is ridiculous, but I think I deserve a little irrationality at the moment. The dinner is awkward as hell with stilted conversation and a number of comments about the plethora of green bean casserole. Peeta and his brothers debate whether or not it’s better with crispy onions on top or not. By the time the meal’s over, I want to sink into the floor.

Somehow, I manage to make it through the rest of the evening and settle into the car before I shut down completely. Peeta shoots me nervous side glances as he drives, but we’re back in our apartment before he finally attempts to get me to talk to him.

“Sweetheart? What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice soothing, but I shrug away from him. Shaking my head, I swallow hard several times before I’m able to speak.

“Any other Mellark family traditions I should know about? Maybe before we see them for Christmas?”

His face falls, and I’m not even sorry. He knew this would hurt me, which is why he didn’t say anything. He tries to apologize, but I’m not ready for it yet. As terrible as it is, I didn’t expect to have the first fight of our marriage on a major holiday. I also didn’t expect to make up with him the next day as his mom comes by to drop off leftovers. To Peeta’s credit, he doesn’t miss a beat. Instead, he tosses a blanket from the sofa over both of us and asks her to leave the food on the counter. He’ll catch up with her some other day. When she leaves, we both giggle uncontrollably. After our laughter subsides, he leans in to kiss me.

“Well, that was awkward,” he says with barely controlled mirth.

But he’s wrong. He hasn’t seen awkward yet, and I spend the next hour working him into positions he’s never imagined. We’re both famished by the time we’re done, so after, we eat leftover green bean casserole. We agree my version is the best.


End file.
